Aa
Anybody have pain in hands or thumb joints?
It's been slowly creeping up. Now the pain is really bad. I can't open jars or even just turn a page in a magazine. I'm in between treatments now, just waiting for my thyroid levels to even out to start again, (I relapsed the 1st time, 8 months ago)
I am curious if anybody else has what I guess is normally called "thumb arthritis"? It's really painful, I found a thumb splint wrap thing and ordered two for both hands. This makes it really hard to do anything though.
Do you think if I attain SVR these pains will go away?
Thanks.
I am curious if anybody else has what I guess is normally called "thumb arthritis"? It's really painful, I found a thumb splint wrap thing and ordered two for both hands. This makes it really hard to do anything though.
Do you think if I attain SVR these pains will go away?
Thanks.
You just described perfectly the strange thing that happens to my left hand when I'm reading a book. Generally I turn the pages with my right hand, and use my left hand to hold down the left side of the book. This involves placing the fingers of my left hand on the binding side of the book while holding down the pages with my thumb. This makes my hand look like a lobster claw. After a few pages, my left hand begins to hurt, and sometimes gets stuck in claw position. Other than this I have little or no arthritis, nothing symptomatic. Weird, isn't it? But this disease and its treatment ARE weird.
62 year old male treated by the va.geno type1b stage1 grade1
in week72svr i am praying, I go for a viral test may2 anybody in my shoes?
in week72svr i am praying, I go for a viral test may2 anybody in my shoes?
Hi,
Yes, I sometimes have joint pain. I have read it is related to acidosis. As Hep C becomes chronic the body becomes acidic. This is true with most chronic diseases. I have also read that the aches and pains are due to the stickiness of the red blood cells caused by Hep C, and that the bone marrow can be affected. All in all, I keep my joint pain in check by using the lemon olive oil drink used by many HIV patients. I don't use whole lemons, and some days I just make homemade lemonade, but it is enough to increase my ph balance. I will have two large glasses of lemonade a day and sometimes pulse fresh mint with it. It is a cheap way to keep the pains in check while I await treatment. Stiffness can be caused by low potassium levels.
Yes, I sometimes have joint pain. I have read it is related to acidosis. As Hep C becomes chronic the body becomes acidic. This is true with most chronic diseases. I have also read that the aches and pains are due to the stickiness of the red blood cells caused by Hep C, and that the bone marrow can be affected. All in all, I keep my joint pain in check by using the lemon olive oil drink used by many HIV patients. I don't use whole lemons, and some days I just make homemade lemonade, but it is enough to increase my ph balance. I will have two large glasses of lemonade a day and sometimes pulse fresh mint with it. It is a cheap way to keep the pains in check while I await treatment. Stiffness can be caused by low potassium levels.
I was reading your post to B- bunch I am 58 yrs. old had hep.c for 40yrs
since I was 18 I am geno type 1 never been treated liver biopsy 20001
resultd stage 1 to 2 grade 1 cronic hepatitis with mild activity and mild increase in portal fibrous in 20006 had blood work done normal physical
My alt was 46, now in 20007 same blood work my alt is 57 ast 48 viral load
530014 in 20001 viral load 596400 my question to you I want to go under
treatment at my age what are my chances SVR??? I am 5 feet 4-inches
weight 150 mother philipine father black, do you think I have a good chance
of killing the dragon??? after so many years.
since I was 18 I am geno type 1 never been treated liver biopsy 20001
resultd stage 1 to 2 grade 1 cronic hepatitis with mild activity and mild increase in portal fibrous in 20006 had blood work done normal physical
My alt was 46, now in 20007 same blood work my alt is 57 ast 48 viral load
530014 in 20001 viral load 596400 my question to you I want to go under
treatment at my age what are my chances SVR??? I am 5 feet 4-inches
weight 150 mother philipine father black, do you think I have a good chance
of killing the dragon??? after so many years.
Hey Woogie welcome to the forum. I am sort of in the same place, a little younger at 52 but I am about 90 weeks into treatment.
How are you doing? Im hanging in there but Im plum wore out from the stuff. Seems like I've been on this forever. I hope you are doing ok and it isn't too hard on you. We have quite a few patients on this board who are treating for 72 weeks and longer, so you aren't alone even though this treatment sure makes one feel like they are alone. This can be a very isolating treatment I have found.
If you feel like it, share your stats with us and tell us a bit about your situation.
Treating that long I imagine that you have some liver damage, but that is a guess. Im 52, geno 3a, relapsed first therapy and am retreating. I have advanced liver damage, somewhere between stage 3 and cirrhosis.
Glad you decided to join in.
How are you doing? Im hanging in there but Im plum wore out from the stuff. Seems like I've been on this forever. I hope you are doing ok and it isn't too hard on you. We have quite a few patients on this board who are treating for 72 weeks and longer, so you aren't alone even though this treatment sure makes one feel like they are alone. This can be a very isolating treatment I have found.
If you feel like it, share your stats with us and tell us a bit about your situation.
Treating that long I imagine that you have some liver damage, but that is a guess. Im 52, geno 3a, relapsed first therapy and am retreating. I have advanced liver damage, somewhere between stage 3 and cirrhosis.
Glad you decided to join in.
I had my hands and sometimes still do {post treatment Geno type 1 2 left of 6 months} cramp esp my thumb in a cup position and lock on me. My big toe hurts like your thumb. Crazy stuff happens due to the Ribavirin. My joints hurt. Hard to get up from a chair. I am going through a rough post treatment 6 months. Still on anti depressant med. Tell your Dr. Ha! Lots of luck. Wish you well Lostpass Hold both hands straight out palms up... now, cup your thumbs in to touch your finger tips... that is how my hands cramp with the concentration of pain in the thumb. Hurts like heck... Misery loves company & you got it. Hang in there. Post treatment still side effects. I thought I'd feel great after the initial 12 months. Not so, but I am an achiever so far. See Dr. tomorrow, and I pray for the best .
Yes, very interesting. Before tx I had same simptoms. I could not get my ring off my finger without difficulty. During tx my joints shrunk and now after tx, no more pain or swelling.
Hi There:
From what you tell me we are in similar circumstances. I too had hep c for 40 years before I started treating. I was stage 2 fibrosis, inflamation 2 (out of 3) Your liver condition is better than mine was and it may be that you could afford to wait until the protease inhibitor telaprevir becomes available. That should be in 2009 and it will increase your chances of successful treatment quite a bit and reduce treatment time by half. Bassically, with Telaprevir, Interferon and Ribavirin together for 12 weeks, your chances of eliminating the virus will rise from 50% to around 80% or better. You should then anticipate 12 weeks of regular interferon and ribavirin, or 24 weeks in all. If you do conventional treatment now, you will have to go for 48 weeks and the chances are around 50% only. So assuming that your liver condition is still more or less ok, I think you can afford to wait for the Telaprevir. I don't think your age is a problem. Mine wasn't. I also would not be put off by your parentage. That used to be an important predictor, but now with Telaprevir everything is changing. Bear in mind that I have no medical training and suggest that you discuss all this with your physician before taking a decision. anyway, best of luck to you
From what you tell me we are in similar circumstances. I too had hep c for 40 years before I started treating. I was stage 2 fibrosis, inflamation 2 (out of 3) Your liver condition is better than mine was and it may be that you could afford to wait until the protease inhibitor telaprevir becomes available. That should be in 2009 and it will increase your chances of successful treatment quite a bit and reduce treatment time by half. Bassically, with Telaprevir, Interferon and Ribavirin together for 12 weeks, your chances of eliminating the virus will rise from 50% to around 80% or better. You should then anticipate 12 weeks of regular interferon and ribavirin, or 24 weeks in all. If you do conventional treatment now, you will have to go for 48 weeks and the chances are around 50% only. So assuming that your liver condition is still more or less ok, I think you can afford to wait for the Telaprevir. I don't think your age is a problem. Mine wasn't. I also would not be put off by your parentage. That used to be an important predictor, but now with Telaprevir everything is changing. Bear in mind that I have no medical training and suggest that you discuss all this with your physician before taking a decision. anyway, best of luck to you
Sometimes, I get the hand aching sx. I use a heating pad, my new best friend. She is wonderful at easing pains.
Thanks happyhungry What about my last two blood test ALT 46 the next
year my ALT 57 dose this mean my liver getting worst? If I choose to waiet
Until 20009 I will be 60 years old did you ever treat? and after 12 weeks
did you SVR ? what was the out come?? thanks again brother for the info.
God Bless Theonam
year my ALT 57 dose this mean my liver getting worst? If I choose to waiet
Until 20009 I will be 60 years old did you ever treat? and after 12 weeks
did you SVR ? what was the out come?? thanks again brother for the info.
God Bless Theonam
Your ALT levels are not that high yet and although they may be rising, you should not look at this to determine whether and when to treat. It is possible to have serious liver damage and normal ALT levels. The reverse is also true. Your ALT score may well be telling you that you do have a problem and that it does deserve attention - but you already know this from your liver diagnosis. The biopsy results are still the gold standard for liver assessment. Dont let the ALT level confuse you. As for treating at 60, this need not be a problem, although it is true that the older you get the lower the chance of success. But you have to weigh that against the benefit of Telaprevir for treating your geno1 HCV. In my opinion (again I am not a doctor) it makes sense to wait a year or so to raise your prospect of successful treatment from 50% to 80% or better. I very much doubt that your age of 60 will be a big factor with the Telaprevir. Also by that time, a lot of the problems of dosing telaprevir will have been sorted out. My experience was that with Telaprevir, I went undetectable in week 3 of treatment and stayed that way to the end of week 10. I am now going into week 16 and waiting for the results of subsequeent viral load testing.
I am 59 male, geno 1, started with 13.5 viral load, cleared in week 3 and now in week 15 of tx. I had acute finger pain in both hands before tx - the symptoms met all the usual symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Fingers so stiff it would take an hour or so each morning before I could use them. Very painful. I had this condition for several years and progressively worse. Treated with acupuncture, chinese herbs and you name it but all to no avail.
THEN I started on INF/RBV and Vertex 950 (Telaprevir) as part of Prove 2 trial, and my virals went from 13.5 Mil to UND in 22 days. At same time the arthritis dissapeared. Thats right, disapeared. Seems that geno 1 HCV (and maybe other genos as well) has an ability to mimic rheumatoid arthritis. If you are able to zap the virus, the arthritis goes too. Now in week 15 of TX and still have no pain or problems with fingers. Hands working like they used to. Amazing. I dont know whether being on Telaprevir had an effect on this result or it is just a function of clearing the hep C. Also dont know whether it is something specific to geno 1. I did note in my Telaprevir trial group (which was all geno 1 peoople) that most had some arthritic-related problem prior to tx. However I dont know whether others also solved their arthritis issues through tx.
THEN I started on INF/RBV and Vertex 950 (Telaprevir) as part of Prove 2 trial, and my virals went from 13.5 Mil to UND in 22 days. At same time the arthritis dissapeared. Thats right, disapeared. Seems that geno 1 HCV (and maybe other genos as well) has an ability to mimic rheumatoid arthritis. If you are able to zap the virus, the arthritis goes too. Now in week 15 of TX and still have no pain or problems with fingers. Hands working like they used to. Amazing. I dont know whether being on Telaprevir had an effect on this result or it is just a function of clearing the hep C. Also dont know whether it is something specific to geno 1. I did note in my Telaprevir trial group (which was all geno 1 peoople) that most had some arthritic-related problem prior to tx. However I dont know whether others also solved their arthritis issues through tx.
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